Current methods for entering and exiting vehicles with wheelchairs can be cumbersome, requiring many steps. Most of these steps need to be performed by a second, able-bodied person, as opposed to the individual in the wheelchair (in many cases, the driver of the vehicle). As the number of elderly increase in the United States and other countries, there is a need to automate the process for entering and exiting vehicles for the wheelchair-bound person.
The present invention will become particularly relevant with the advent of autonomous vehicles, since the handicap rider may be the only person in such a vehicle, and would not be able to count on the help of a driver or another passenger.
For example, current methods for wheelchair-accessible taxicabs require the driver of the taxicab to exit the vehicle, open the door, manually deploy a ramp, attach hooked tie-down straps to the front of the wheelchair, push the wheelchair up the ramp, attach straps now to the rear of the wheel chair, retract the ramp, secure the ramp, and close the door. In the approved wheelchair-accessible taxis for the city of New York, the driver of the vehicle (not the wheelchair passenger themselves) must perform a sequence of twenty-one steps before the wheelchair passenger is fastened, and the driver can continue with the trip before the fare starts.
A similarly cumbersome procedure must be followed when the wheelchair-bound person exits the vehicle. These burdensome methods not only inconvenience the driver, but also stop traffic, and most importantly, risk endangering the passenger if any of the steps are forgotten or not properly performed.